DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 26, 2006) -- Team Target IndyCar driver
Scott Dixon of Target Chip Ganassi Racing rolled off pit lane second,
survived a flat-spotted tire, and still managed to outrun 30 other
Daytona Prototypes to secure the second position on the grid for
Saturday's Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series' 44th
running of the prestigious Rolex 24 At Daytona. The 2003 IndyCar Champion
continued his fast and furious week in the no.02 Target Riley after he
and IRL teammate Dan Wheldon left the Phoenix IndyCar open test first and
second overall.

Dixon, no stranger to CGR's Rolex Series program with three career
starts under his belt, ran as high as second in the day's 15-minute
qualifier at DIS, but his top lap time of 1:44.609 (1:22.513 mph) clocked
in on Lap 8 of 9 ultimately catapulted the New Zealander to the outside
of the front row.

"Overall I'm pleased with the car and how far we've
come with it this afternoon," said Dixon of his qualifying run.
"But I think first place was definitely within our reach. I locked
up the front tires and set us back a little so that hurt us. At the
start, I rolled off behind the no.10 car and was having a good time
pressuring him and trying to get into his head to force a mistake. I
wanted to get some room to run in the clear, but unfortunately he
didn't bite. It's the best starting spot we've had for
the Target car at the Rolex 24, so I can't complain. I'm
looking forward to my teammates Dan [Wheldon] and Casey [Mears] getting
in the car and giving some feedback as well in this evening's night
session."

The Ganassi stables' DP anchorman Scott Pruett returned to
qualifying in his familiar no.01 CompUSA Lexus-Riley looking for a third
consecutive pole for the twice-round-the-clock classic. Although the
CompUSA team delivered a promising practice effort earlier in the day,
Pruett wrestled the CGR-prepped machine to an uncharacteristic 10th place
qualifying spot (1:44.969, 122.093 mph). The 2004 Daytona Prototype
Champion remained optimistic about his chances on bringing team owner
Chip Ganassi his first Rolex 24 trophy, but knows there's work to
be done.

"We made some changes for qualifying and branched away a little
from the setup we ran in practice," said the multidisciplinary
motorsports magician Pruett. "It ended up being the wrong decision,
but we made the call based on the information we had. I'll take the
blame though due to the fact that I locked up the tires early in the
session. In the end it hurt us a bit in straight-line speed, so who knows
how many more spots we would have gained. Overall, we have some work to
do, but I'm confident the CompUSA car will be strong come
Saturday."

Overall, the Ganassi roster is an impressive group of North American
motor racing Championship talent, representing the 2005 Indianapolis 500
and IndyCar Series Championships (Wheldon), the 2004 Daytona Prototype
Team and Driver Championships (Pruett and Papis), and the 2003 IndyCar
Series titlist (Dixon).

The sextet boasts three championships, 20 wins and 24 poles combined over
the past three seasons in Grand American, IRL and NASCAR NEXTEL Cup
Series competition, and represents championships each year dating back to
2003. Scott Pruett, Luis Diaz and Max Papis have united to form the
driver lineup for the no.01 CompUSA Lexus-Riley, while CGR Team Target
IndyCar pilots Scott Dixon and Dan Wheldon join NASCAR NEXTEL Cup
stablemate Casey Mears in the no.02 Target Daytona Prototype.

Fans of Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates can follow the team at the
Rolex 24 At Daytona by logging onto the Rolex Sports Car Series website
at www.grandamerican.com for free live timing, and keep up with the
team's successes throughout the 2005 season by logging onto the
official website at www.chipganassiracing.com for news, features, photos
and much more. The Rolex 24 At Daytona weekend at Daytona International
Speedway is set for January 26-29. Check your local listings for
television times on SPEED Channel.